Blackwand
Blackwand is the longsword carried by Morrolan e'Drien, one of the seventeen Great Weapons. Physically, it is of black and unreflective metal, with a plain crosspiece and a smooth black hilt. History When Morrolan first appeared in Blackchapel, he told the coachman Miska that, in addition to his name, he was searching for a place of power, a sacred artifact, and a soulmate. Arguably, Blackwand is all three of these things. Shortly after arriving in Blackchapel, Morrolan met Arra, and consecrated his soul to the Demon Goddess. After this ceremony was completed, Morrolan claimed that he had a dream wherein he dove to the bottom of a lake, and there found a black staff or wand, which he took. This was presumably meant to be a portent of his destiny to hold Blackwand. Morrolan obtained Blackwand from Sethra Lavode. Paarfi of Roundwood relates this (in a probably apocryphal account) as having been the result of Morrolan demanding tribute of Sethra, whose domain, the Barony of Dzur Mountain, is technically a fief of Morrolan's then-county (and now duchy) of Southmoor. During this encounter, Tukko reminded Sethra of a prophecy concerning a young man and a black wand, hinting that this prophecy was about Morrolan, and Sethra gave Morrolan the weapon, after shattering Morrolan's original ordinary blade. Attributes and Powers Blackwand's sentience is perceived briefly by Vlad Taltos as being very aggressive and in some way female, and has been described as 'an infantry battalion disguised as a sword.' While Blackwand can consume souls, like all Great Weapons, the bond that she has with her bearer means that Morrolan can tell her not to do so. He has done this at least once explicitly, on the Paths of the Dead, and may have done so less obviously at other times — most notably, when Morrolan and Vlad attacked Loraan. When Blackwand is drawn, her aura strikes fear or intense discomfort into all but wielder. As a powerful magical artifact, the sword can deflect some spells and produce magical attacks. Morrolan uses her assistance in witchcraft, where she acts as his familiar, and also in wizardry, where she acts as his staff. Blackwand has the autonomy to act even when the wielder is unconscious. After Morrolan killed Tri'nagore, he fell unconscious from the shock. When he awoke he found the bodies of three Easterners who had tried to kill him, but had been stopped by Blackwand. She has also struck back at after her wielder was killed on at least one occasion: she attacked a Jenoine with a 'black flash' after it killed Morrolan (non-permanently). Serioli Name This translation of the name appears in Dragon, phrased by Morrolan. The name is given as the slightly reworded Magical-Wand-That-Creates-Death-in-the-Form-of-a-Black-Sword in Phoenix, by Vlad, who probably misremembered. Note that a particular Serioli has suggested that "creating death" (in the first translation) is not quite right, and more preferable would be "removing life-substance" or "sending life-substance to —". Alas, he was interrupted before his linguistic analysis was complete, so we do not know, at this point in time, where the life-substance is sent to. Category:Weapons